The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara is one
of the most impressive pieces in The Queen’s tiara collection. It
is one of her favourite tiaras and is frequently worn for different
events. It is notable, not only for its sheer size and brilliance
but for the fact that it can be worn with either 15 pearls or 15
emeralds hanging from the diamond circles. But how did it end up in
the British Royal…
On May 7 1697, a fire broke out and
destroyed much of the old royal palace in Stockholm. The castle Tre
Kronor, or Three Crowns in English, is now only a footnote in
history with the present royal palace of Stockholm built above the
ruins of the old middle-aged castle that…
As the only son of the Russian Empress
Catherine the Great, Tsar Paul I succeeded his mother on her death
in 1796. He would rule the Russian Empire for the next five years.
Probably, he would had ruled the Russian Empire much longer than
that. But Paul was murdered. And his…
The Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace
first and foremost is the name of the Chapel Royal, that
establishment of the Royal Household intended to meet the spiritual
needs of the Sovereign; the secondary term refers to the building
itself – a royal peculiar – in which the monarch actually
worshipped. The Chapel Royal is probably best remembered for the
wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince…
On This Day in 1940: King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav were almost killed in a bomb attack
28th April 2020
It has been 80 years since the German
invasion of Norway. Hitler was looking for the Norwegian Royal
Family, and for a while, he also tried to get the 3-year-old
Prince Harald to rule the nation as a child king. The royal
family managed to escape and lived in exile in the…
It has been 80 years since the German
invasion of Norway. Hitler was looking for the Norwegian royal
family, and for a while, he also tried to get the 3-year-old Prince
Harald to rule the nation as a child king. The royal family managed
to escape and lived in exile in the UK…
In February 1308, England welcomed its
new queen to her realm for the first time. Isabella, consort to
King Edward II, arrived with her husband at Dover after an
elaborate wedding in her home country. Isabella expected adulation
and respect. Instead, she watched as Edward showered kisses on a
court favourite. It would set the template for a marriage that
ultimately led to betrayal, a fight for the…
Gustavus Adolphus or better known as King
Gustav II of Sweden was born in 1594. At the age of only 16, Gustav
was a war-torn young Crown Prince who was eager to take over the
Swedish throne. When Denmark-Norway stirred up a new war in 1610,
it was only a question of when the…
The Royal Palace in Oslo is today a
striking monument in the city centre of Oslo. When the castle was
built, it was located outside the very centre of Oslo. The property
that is today the residence of Norway’s monarch was for only 300
years ago nothing more than part…
Amidst the chronicle of lost tombs at
Westminster Abbey is that of Queen Anne Neville, wife of King
Richard III. Queen Anne’s invisibility in these terms underlines
the purported neglect on behalf of Richard III; this lack of a
memorial was rectified however when a bronze plaque was placed to
Queen Anne’s memory at Westminster Abbey, in an attempt to redress
this act of historical forgetting.
